Quinta da Esperanca - Alentejo Wine

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with wines from the Alentejo right now. There are so many of them; I couldn’t possibly keep up unless I developed a habit. Plus, most of the time, my palette just fancies trying different regions, and considering Portugal is full of wine regions, its hardly a problem satisfying a promiscuous pallet.

On a way out to dinner at a friends, we thought to pick up a nice bottle of red, unsure of what would be served it was a a bit of a gamble, so when we came across a bottled decked out with metals resembling a decorated soldiers uniform, we thought we were in good hands.

When time came to serve this highly awarded red, we were excited to see what the fuss was all about. But on trying the wine, the look on the faces at dinner said something else….no one seemed impressed…what? Hummm, not the reaction we expected or hoped for - the wine was flat, and dare I say, chalky. Feeling let down, we went on with dinner anyway, then about 3/4 of the way through, we all noticed something…the WINE! Bold, rich, fruity and distinctive….that’s what the fuss was all about, this sleeping beauty needed to breath! Should have known better, especially with a 2004, we could have decanted Quinta da Esperanca well before, and had a wonderful wine right from the start. Note for next time.

If you’ve got a meaty, tomato or herb rich meal, or some great cheeses give this bottle a try. But remember to decant it, and give it lots of surface area to breath before serving, taking the cork out won’t do it justice, it needs room to breath. Saude!

Quinta da Esperanca 2004
Region: Alentejo (see photos on flickr)

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Porca de Murça - Douro Tinto 2005

Some days picking out a wine takes a lot of contemplation, other times its a quick grab, and hope for the best. Recently, with guest about to arrive and no time to prepare, I made a quick dash to the new and very hip Pingo Doce supermarket, in Faro - my mission, wine and cheese!

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Algarve Wine Tours - Adega Do Cantor

Unlike the Douro, the Algarve isn’t really known as a wine producing region in Portugal, but not long ago we wrote a post about a great wine we stumbled on, from right here in the sunny south. What we didn’t know at the time, was more to the story of wine in the Algarve than we knew.

Vida Nova Wine

As the old saying goes, ‘one good thing leads to another’, and before long we discovered another Algarvian wine, Vida Nova. Curious about this new find, we ended up at the Vida Nova Vineyard: Adega do Cantor, in Guia. Not knowing what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised with what we found.

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João Clara Tinto 2006- Vinho Regional Algarve

After some time away, it’s nice to come back to a surprise like this!

A couple of nights ago, we were introduced to a new and special character; João Clara - a beautiful red wine from right here in the Algarve. What a wonderful and unexpected surprise - this wine is very young, but shelved for a couple of years, and WOW. Its strong aroma grabs you as soon as it’s poured and its flavor is robust and dry with mild wood and red berry flavours, and a super clean finish. Thrilled that this wine comes from right here in our backyard.

Joao Clara - Vinho Regional Algarve

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Hello 2008!

Like many of you, we were happy to bring in the new year with a great bubbly - our pick was Murganheira, not the easiest name to pronounce; but it got easier after a couple of glasses!

Murganheira

Anyway, this little known Portuguese bubbly is wonderful and provides choices between “doce/sweet”, “meio seco/medium dry”, and “seco/dry”, and has wonderful dry fruit flavours, making it ideal for easy sipping all on its own. If you happen to come across this bubbly give it a try for your next glass clinking celebration.

Saúde and Happy New Year!

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Marias da Malhadinha – Portuguese Table Wines

A couple of weeks ago we attended the Lisbon Wine & Food Show with the gang from Adegga. Not only did we have a great time, but also got to try some really incredible Portuguese wines. As expected, there were wines from all over the country, varying in taste and budgets.

Marias da Malhadinha

What impressed me the most was the diversity of the Portuguese wines -Vinho verdes, whites, reds all the way through ports, madeiras, etc. The selection of Portuguese wines is truly dynamic, impressive and makes me proud. So, it’s really a shame that formidable wines like these are not better known outside the country. The most popular Portuguese wine I remember in my travels abroad has consistently been Mateus Rose, although a nice commercial wine, it’s a pale comparison to the serious contenders we have nationally. Like Marias da Malhadinha, Palacio da Brejoeira, Cortes de Cima Reserva, Marques de Borba Reserva - these are pure heaven, and just a few of the many hundreds of Portuguese reds. Read more

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